Important Info if you are waiting on refunds from March or April especially GIFT CARDS

[pjhootch]

Hello all,

I have been waiting patiently for all the refunds to sort themselves out since March 11th and April 3rd.  Short story- had a fully paid for cruise for two rooms and 5 people AND Fly 2 Fun Air to Europe on May 30th that was cancelled March 10th and we immediately re-booked and transferred funds to a similar (but less expensive) cruise and Fly 2 Fun air on September 20, 2020.  On April 2nd or 3rd THAT one was cancelled, and we immediately re-booked a replacement European cruise for September 2021.  Far too early to get airfare through Fly 2 Fun, AND the cruise itself was cheaper too.  

 

On May 14th I received $800 cash refund to a credit card from the March 10th cancellation.  Seemed promising and I have been patiently waiting for SOMETHING ever since.  I finally called Carnival today because I do not want to be in line behind all the newer cancellations for refunds.  It is a damned good thing I called.

 

Transferring the funds to pay for the new cruises twice was easy as could be.  However, all the $$ that was paid for airfare and that was left over when the only similar cruises we found were less expensive- was just sitting there today, attached to the old booking numbers as a FCC.  So Fly 2 Fun should have been refunded no matter what, since there is no way it should have been marked for a FCC.  That is bull.  But in addition, it wasn't even moved off either of the cruises Carnival cancelled.  So with 2 rooms on each successive cruise, there was somewhat random amounts of FCC attached here and there to a variety of booking numbers.  I had absolutely no way of knowing this, since it did not show up on any of the information I received from Carnival with the cancellation letters or the new booking confirmations showing payments.  A couple of email confirmation emails did show I had "overpaid" the price of the cruise, but it was only by a couple of hundred bucks as opposed to the nearly $4000 that Carnival was just sitting on as FCC instead of refunding as airfare for flights to cruises that were completely cancelled.

 

NOW- the good news.  I did not have to wait on hold and I reached an extremely helpful customer service rep that created herself a spreadsheet and went over every single figure with me until she and I both understood what was paid, what was transferred, what was sitting in limbo and what needed to be refunded and in what fashion.  It took her at least an hour to get this straightened out.

 

Where I stand right now, is that she filled out forms to move the FCC sitting on cancelled cruises to my current booking for September 2021.  The extra FCC that was already applied to my September 2021 booking she submitted refunds to the Carnival Gift Cards I had used, and told me which amount would be applied to which Gift card number in my possession.    She said once the FCC stuck on the old cancelled cruises is showing up on the September 2021 cruise, I can ask for that to be refunded to Gift Cards as well- since that is how the majority of my cruise was paid for after the initial deposit money.

 

It might be worth a phone call for those of you still wondering where your refunds are after nearly 3 months and especially if you paid with gift cards.  I have read repeatedly that Carnival just issues new gift cards for refunds, but that is not what she did for me.  I kept every single card I ever applied and she used 3 of them to put refund money back on the cards.

Good luck everyone.

[Autumnrose]

I recommend calling as well. I am in the new round of cancellations but had to call for another reason. I also wondered why my canceled cruise still showed up looking like an open booking that I could add shore excursions and such to. I was told that when you fill out the form that is emailed to you, where you choose either a refund or FCC that the information is sent into a queue for someone to eventually cancel and process. Not sure how many people they have processing that queue but the agent told me that is why it can take 90 days or more. He said it will just sit there until you rebook or until someone get to it. He said he could go ahead and cancel the booking and process the refunds I am due.  Hopefully that means I will get my money soon. 

[shof515]

when i called about my refund that i've been waiting over 90 days for, i am told they will process and get it when they get to it. there is no timeline due to their HQ being reduced staff

[SRQMom]

38 minutes ago, shof515 said:

when i called about my refund that i've been waiting over 90 days for, i am told they will process and get it when they get to it. there is no timeline due to their HQ being reduced staff

 Update on my refund.  March 13 cruise cancelled.  Requested a refund that I still hadn't received after 90 days.  Two cabins totalling $1,800 so was gettting upset.  I had booked with a travel agent and kept hitting a brick wall (the travel agent had to call, blah blah blah).  Two weeks ago I'd had my limit so I called my travel agent and told her that I felt my inability to speak for myself was hampering my refund.  She called Carnival (I sat on hold for over half an hour) and she came back and told me that she "spoke to accounting" and they were finally able to "force it through".  Half issued on June 9 (which was just posted on my account on June 24) and the other on June 13 (which I assume I'll get next week).   So, on the positive side, the refunds are being processed.  Maybe call and be the "squeaky wheel" to see if that helps.  It did for me.  

[MSBfan]

I have a similar situation. Had a cruise for March that got cancelled, so I rebooked for June with FCC.

 

Once that got cancelled, I requested a refund. Played the waiting game and about 3 weeks ago got my “Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses” credited back to my checking acct.

 

Waited a little while longer, and when saw no other refunds, I called my PVP to see if something may have been “lost in the rebooking”. He returned my call after looking into it, and said yes the rest of the $$ was in a similar situation as the OP’s was. But he said he got it all straightened out, and a refund to the tune of $1117 would be forthcoming.

 

This morning I logged onto my bank and saw some money deposited into my checking acct from CCL. It wasn’t the full amount so I checked my CapOne acct, and there was also some funds deposited from CCL there too. The deposits were dated yesterday. So as of now, I’ve gotten $517 of what is owed to me, with $600 yet to be paid.

 

I do think I will give them a call today, not because I don’t think I’ll get it...they’ve demonstrated that they will process the refunds. I simply don’t recall what all cards/accts I’ve paid from, and I want to know where to look for my money. My fault entirely for trying to maximize my rewards and not keeping good records. Lesson learned. 

[pjhootch]

1 hour ago, MSBfan said:

I have a similar situation. Had a cruise for March that got cancelled, so I rebooked for June with FCC.

 

Once that got cancelled, I requested a refund. Played the waiting game and about 3 weeks ago got my “Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses” credited back to my checking acct.

 

Waited a little while longer, and when saw no other refunds, I called my PVP to see if something may have been “lost in the rebooking”. He returned my call after looking into it, and said yes the rest of the $$ was in a similar situation as the OP’s was. But he said he got it all straightened out, and a refund to the tune of $1117 would be forthcoming.

 

This morning I logged onto my bank and saw some money deposited into my checking acct from CCL. It wasn’t the full amount so I checked my CapOne acct, and there was also some funds deposited from CCL there too. The deposits were dated yesterday. So as of now, I’ve gotten $517 of what is owed to me, with $600 yet to be paid.

 

I do think I will give them a call today, not because I don’t think I’ll get it...they’ve demonstrated that they will process the refunds. I simply don’t recall what all cards/accts I’ve paid from, and I want to know where to look for my money. My fault entirely for trying to maximize my rewards and not keeping good records. Lesson learned. 

 

[pjhootch]

I definitely was trying to maximize my rewards by basically paying my initial deposit in cash and then using Carnival gift cards bought at 10% discount to pay off the entire initial cruise plus airfare for 5 people to Europe.  Essentially $1000 off the cruise and airfare.  

 

So I have been quite patient about the refunds since everything needs to be refunded to gift cards and I assumed it was a lengthy process.  But I was really surprised when the customer service rep dug into it and found I had 6 separate amounts of FCC attached to  the 6 different cabins that had been booked (4 of which are on cancelled cruises which theoretically had been completely transferred to my newest booking).  If I had not phoned- or if she had just brushed me off with platitudes- none of the $ that should have been refunded would have even been initiated for processing.

[j1d1]

20 hours ago, pjhootch said:

It might be worth a phone call for those of you still wondering where your refunds are after nearly 3 months and especially if you paid with gift cards.  I have read repeatedly that Carnival just issues new gift cards for refunds, but that is not what she did for me.  I kept every single card I ever applied and she used 3 of them to put refund money back on the cards.

 

Did you check the cards to make sure they now have a balance?  I have been repeatedly told that it isn't physically possible for a Carnival rep to "reload" cards and can only issue new ones.

[Joe817]

18 minutes ago, j1d1 said:

 

Did you check the cards to make sure they now have a balance?  I have been repeatedly told that it isn't physically possible for a Carnival rep to "reload" cards and can only issue new ones.

You are correct j1d1. Carnival gift cards are NOT reloadable at all. It even says so on the Carnival website:

"Reload Information

 

What happens when the total card value is used? Should I throw the card away?
Once you run out of funds on the Carnival Gift Card, you may not add additional funds. The card may then be discarded. 

 

Can I add funds to my Carnival Gift Card online?
You may not add funds to your gift card online as the gift card is not reloadable."

 

For more Gift Card information:

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2004/~/carnival-gift-cards---frequently-asked-questions#:~:text=Can I add funds to,gift card is not reloadable.&text=Are Carnival Gift Cards sold,offers flexibility in denomination value.

[j1d1]

9 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

You are correct j1d1. Carnival gift cards are NOT reloadable at all. It even says so on the Carnival website

 

Unfortunately even some Carnival reps are not aware of this.  TAs are also in the dark on this.  I have been told by reps and TAs that a card would be "reloaded" only to have to call back to get it cleared up and a new card issued.

 

So if this did happen for the OP, it would be the first time that I've heard of it happening.  And that would be useful information for the many, myself included, who continue to wait for gift card refunds.

[MSBfan]

Made the call to the Carnival and got transferred to the Casino Dept, as it was a Casino Rate(my PVP is off weekends), and got a very helpful rep who informed me that the remaining $600(3 $200 transactions) is showing credited to my MC ending in XXXX, and once CapOne processes it on their end, it should show in my account. 

 

So all appears to be well according to Hoyle. 

[Joe817]

3 minutes ago, MSBfan said:

Made the call to the Carnival and got transferred to the Casino Dept, as it was a Casino Rate(my PVP is off weekends), and got a very helpful rep who informed me that the remaining $600(3 $200 transactions) is showing credited to my MC ending in XXXX, and once CapOne processes it on their end, it should show in my account. 

 

So all appears to be well according to Hoyle. 

Congrats! Persistence pays off! 👍

[pjhootch]

On 6/27/2020 at 9:38 AM, j1d1 said:

 

Did you check the cards to make sure they now have a balance?  I have been repeatedly told that it isn't physically possible for a Carnival rep to "reload" cards and can only issue new ones.

I do not see a new balance yet and you and Joe may well be right that the cards cannot be reloaded.  I will stay on top of that and check to make sure things get straightened out.  

 

Despite that uncertainty, I am still quite thankful to the CR person for working through all the various FCC amounts to locate my missing funds.  I have no idea how airfare for 5 wound up as FCC attached to six cabins, 4 of which are on cancelled cruises.  The airfare $ should have been sent to process for refunds when we transferred FCC funds to new cruises.  Just glad we are on the path to getting this straightened out.  

 

Just want other people to realize assuming your funds are being processed for refunds may not work out and it does not hurt to double check.  My actual processed refund arrived May 14th, and if I had not called nothing else would have been returned. ever.

[pjhootch]

UPDATE:

 

I received 2 gift cards today that match the amounts the customer service rep said was being added back to the original gift cards.  So Joe and j1d1 are completely correct that the CR lady did not understand the cards could not be reloaded.  

 

On the other hand, I spoke with her on Friday and received the refunded gift cards by Fed Ex today.

 

Now I need to see if my FCC has been moved to the fully paid September 2021 yet, and can be refunded to gift cards.  Baby steps. 🙂

[Autumnrose]

*****Update on my refund****

I called Carnival on June 26th after filling out the online form for my cancelled Sept 20th cruise. He told me it was in queue to be cancelled and the taxes refunded. I told him I did not know when I would re-book and he could cancel now. He told me he canceled it and processed the refund. I got the refund on my debit card yesterday! 

[MSBfan]

****Update on my refund****

 

It appears that all is NOT well as I have yet to see my last $600 credited to my CC. So I called today and was told 3 $200 credits were sent on 6/16. Problem is, they gave my 3 DIFFERENT “Last 4” CC digits, of which I have NONE!

 

So now I’m on hold trying to find out where this money may have went to. Nearest I can figure out is I used 3 Carnival GC’s, but they were in the amount of $100, $100 and $200(and doesn’t add up to $600) and they were applied on 9/14/19, which is a Saturday when I would do most of my bill paying, and stuff like that. 

 

Of course as we see In this thread, GC’s are not reloadable so I’m going to try and get them reissued. Hell, I’d even be happy to have that applied to my “potential” March 2021 cruise.

Edited July 11, 2020 by MSBfan
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